PBA 052 Nilani
1:07:48 AM Canto: Nilani wakes up in a very very dark room. 1:12:02 AM Canto: This was after the Inevitable killed her. 1:12:38 AM Nilani: ... 1:12:46 AM Nilani: Okay, most of what I've seen of Nation has lights, so I might not actually be dead. Blind, maybe? 1:13:02 AM Canto: You hear a voice from the darkness. "Oh, you're dead. Very dead." 1:13:09 AM Nilani: Oh joy. 1:13:24 AM Canto: "Just for now, though. So we could make contact." 1:14:46 AM Nilani: Ah, temporary death, my second-favorite kind of death, only slightly lower on the list than convincingly-faked death. 1:18:19 AM Canto: "Yes. We'll send you back when we've concluded our business here." 1:19:15 AM | Edited 1:20:54 AM Canto: A candle sparks to light in the middle of the room, revealing a small wooden table with a couple of stools. 1:21:47 AM *** Nilani gets up (if she wasn't already standing or something, that is) and approaches the table. *** 1:29:19 AM Canto: There's no one in the room that she can see in the dim halo of light, and with her low-light vision. 1:32:36 AM *** Nilani shrugs and takes a seat in whichever stool is closest. *** 1:35:42 AM Canto: Suddenly there's someone sitting across from you, dressed all in black, and wearing a mask. 1:40:45 AM Nilani: Hello. I assume you're the one who was talking, or an associate of theirs. 1:41:11 AM Canto: "Oh, it was me. It's just you and I here." 1:41:22 AM Canto: The voice still seems to come from all around you. 1:51:57 AM Canto: "I'm sure you're wondering why I've brought you here." 1:53:12 AM | Edited 1:53:33 AM Nilani: Ah. The everywhere-voice is an interesting effect. I have no idea what the etiquette for this sort of thing is. Is it rude to ask who you are? 1:55:09 AM Canto: "Probably not. I am Mask. I am one of a small group of entities who have an interest in stopping these souls bound to Nation from reaching their destination. 2:00:27 AM Nilani: The same Mask who was stranded in Nation's displacement field, and who caused Janis to act strangely for a bit, or just some entity that shares the name? 2:01:02 AM Nilani: And yeah, the more I learn about where all these souls might be going, the less I like the notion. 2:01:27 AM Canto: "That Mask was a creature that was called Mask by a girl who admitted she was 'not good at naming things'. I am a god." 2:03:53 AM Nilani: Ah. 2:03:57 AM Nilani: Sorry. 2:05:12 AM Canto: "No worries. My ego isn't that fragile. I am one who tends to look over those that prefer silence and shadows." 2:12:03 AM Nilani: Well, this is certainly fitting, then. Not just your choice in a conversational partner, but also your choice in setting. 2:12:23 AM *** Nilani gestures lightly at the darkness. *** 2:13:14 AM Canto: "There's something comforting about it, yes? So. I've come here to offer you something." 2:16:21 AM Nilani: Ah. What kind of something? 2:17:32 AM Nilani: And are there any silly hoops, figurative or physical, that I need to jump through to get that something? 2:18:29 AM Canto: "Well, really, you've been jumping through hoops since you left the oracle, just to get here." 2:19:11 AM Nilani: True. 2:19:52 AM Canto: "I am offering the smallest bit of my own power. It is very little to me, but quite a bit to you, and might help see you through the curse." 2:27:47 AM Nilani: Well, that certainly is something. I'll take any advantage I can get against horrible encroaching doom. Are there any requirements or other residual weirdnesses I should know about? 2:30:10 AM Canto: "Almost certainly." He slips a vial across to table toward you, it seems to be filled with some kind of thick, black liquid substances that looks like shadows in glass. "Rarely does the divine so directly interact with the mortal without such 'weirdnesses'. After you leave this plane, though, we won't really be able to make contact with you reliably." 2:38:40 AM Nilani: That makes sense. Not every plane is as divine-aligned as this one. 2:39:07 AM *** Nilani takes the vial and examines it further. *** 2:39:53 AM Canto: IT looks like shadows and darkness. 2:41:27 AM Nilani: So, am I supposed to drink this, or is this one of those ones you inhale? 2:43:01 AM Canto: "If you accept my gift, drink it down. If you do not, give it back to me. Either way, I will resurrect you." 2:43:30 AM Canto: "Just this once, mind you. If you die again, your fate will be to wander the halls of Nation as a ghost." 2:44:30 AM Canto: "The only reason we're talking right now is because you died in a demirealm designed to bring you here. Even then, if you stayed here for any length of time, your soul would eventually be drawn back to Nation. And again, you'd be a ghost." 2:49:10 AM Nilani: Thanks for the warning. And also for whatever this gives me. Here's hoping we actually manage to stop this skullduggery. 2:49:53 AM *** Nilani pops the cork (or similar vial-closure device) and downs the contents. *** 2:51:06 AM Canto: It tasts like licorice! And that's about all I got. :)